American DBE Magazine

KCATA Strengthens Diverse Business Programs as KC Streetcar Projects Take Shape

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) operates bus and other public transportation services in the Greater Kansas City Region, serving more than 9.4 million passengers each year. KCATA is the largest agency of RideKC, a regional organization comprised of several public transportation agencies including Unified Government Transit, Johnson County Transit, IndeBus and KC Streetcar Authority.

As part of RideKC, KCATA is one of the leading public transportation agencies in the nation, having been honored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) as the top public transit agency in North America for midsize agencies. The agency earned the 2022 APTA Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award.

In a press release following the award presentation, APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said: “Over the past three years COVID has deeply affected transit systems across the country. One constant from my conversations during this time is that KCATA is always mentioned in discussions about leaders in equitable fare policies and diversifying mobility options. While facing a changing landscape as we return from COVID, it is also admirable to see they have recovered 80% of their pre-pandemic ridership. I congratulate you on this well-deserved award.”

Architectural rendering of the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension currently under construction in Kansas City.

Launch of Main Street Extension

KCATA has continued to build upon this success in 2022 by partnering with the KC Streetcar Authority and the City of Kansas City, Missouri to begin construction on the $351.6 million Main Street Extension of the KC Streetcar system. The project started construction activities in April 2022 with a 20.2% goal for the participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). The project is being administered by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, as the grant recipient; and city’s Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department established the DBE contract goal. This project will be the region’s largest transit project – and when completed – will positively impact transit throughout the region by extending the current line from Union Station, in downtown Kansas City, south approximately 3.5 miles to the vicinity of the University of Missouri –Kansas City. The project is funded with local and federal funding, and partly funded from the expanded Main Street Rail Transportation Development District. In January 2021, the project received $174 million from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the largest transit grant ever received in Kansas City, Missouri.

DBEs are actively working on the project, providing construction and non-construction activities, including engineering and other professional services. As of September 2022, the KC Streetcar Constructors Joint Venture team, consisting of Herzog Inc. and Stacy & Witbeck Inc., has made DBE commitments of more than $50 million, and is more than halfway to achieving the DBE goal for the entire project. “We have two major transportation projects going on in this region, the Kansas City Airport project, and our KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project. We have many of our DBE firms working on these projects,” said KCATA DBE Program Manager Whitney Morgan.

The KC Streetcar Main Street Extension Project is approximately 20% complete and will open to the public in 2025. KC Streetcar Authority Executive Director Tom Gerend said, “The KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project will connect our city’s largest employment centers and elevate the function of our system from a downtown circulator to the spine of an improved regional transit system.”

Federal Transit Administration Administrator Nuria Fernandez speaks at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension Project in April 2022.

Riverfront Extension Project Up Next

KCATA, KC Streetcar Authority, the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and Port KC are currently planning an additional streetcar extension to connect downtown to the growing Berkley Riverfront, just north of downtown Kansas City along the Missouri River. The KC Streetcar Riverfront Extension project will extend the mobility and economic development benefits of the streetcar system to a long-dormant area near downtown – sparking additional economic development and job creation.

The KC Streetcar Riverfront Extension will provide an additional mobility option for residents living in new residential housing along the riverfront and allow all Kansas Citians to use the streetcar to travel to the new KC Current Stadium, a professional women’s soccer stadium expected to open in 2024. “When added to the recently announced KC Streetcar Main Street extension federal funding, this project will complete the full River/Crown/Plaza transit spine as envisioned by our elected leadership many years ago,” Gerend said.

The Riverfront Extension project’s anticipated budget is $31.6 million and is fully funded through a combination of local funding and a $14.2 million BUILD grant from the FTA. KCATA selected Burns & McDonnell as Project Management Consultant and established a DBE goal of 23% for the PMC contract. Burns & McDonnell has partnered with four DBE firms as subconsultants, including Connico, Hg Consult Inc., and Taliaferro & Browne Inc. Planned DBE participation is 23.3% of the project management fees.

KCATA also selected HDR as design consultant and established a 23% goal for this portion of the project as well. HDR is teaming with five DBE firms including, Custom Engineering, Hg Consult Inc., Taliaferro & Browne Inc., TREKK Design Group, and Tsi Geotechnical, Inc.

Kansas City Area Transit Authority KCATA DBE Program Manager Whitney Morgan and Hillsborough Area Transit Authority (Florida) CEO Adelee Le Grand serve on a panel discussion at the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ (COMTO) National Meeting and Training Conference held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida during July 2022.

Leadership Support for Inclusion

The two streetcar projects offer an ideal environment for KCATA to implement improvements to its DBE and M/WBE Programs to increase the participation of diverse firms in transit opportunities. KCATA board members recently increased their engagement with the agency’s programs by recommending the development of a Procurement/DBE Subcommittee formed by a subset of board members and staff from the Procurement and Civil Rights Department. “We have a very supportive board that is interested in equity and inclusion, and wants to set DBE or M/WBE goals on all of our projects,” Morgan said.

KCATA leadership is making other strides to strengthen its diversity program. The agency created a new Civil Rights Department in June 2022 to establish a team of professionals dedicated to equity and inclusion within the agency and with businesses seeking contracting opportunities. The newly created Director of Civil Rights position now reports directly to the Chief of Staff, whereas previously, DBE Program staff were positioned within the Grants Department.

The agency is also gearing up to hire a consultant to update its disparity study to determine how the agency is progressing toward eliminating the gap between the availability of diverse vendors in the region and their contracting success with KCATA. Morgan said, “We have been working to revamp and upgrade our DBE and M/WBE Programs and we are starting to see results.”